


When you least expect it

by orphan_account



Category: Elementary (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-18 07:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8153567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Joan and Jamie have a weird relationship, both of them are scared of caring too much. One day Jamie leaves without saying anything and came back later waiting for things to be the same. They weren't.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, first of all, english is not my first language so if anything is wrong please correct me so I can get better at it (:
> 
> Second, I don't really watch this show much, I just loved the couple when I saw on tumblr and read all of the fics I could, but since there isn't much I decided to write one.
> 
> Third and last, I haven't written anything in years so I'm more than a bit rusty at it, I hope it's not too bad. Also, the characters may be OOC so I apolagize about that too. 
> 
> That would be all, I hope you like it (:

You’ve never been scared of her, or so you say to everybody. To be honest, you were scared when you first met, but now? Fear is the farthest thing on your mind when you think of her, and that’s dangerous. Because even with a gun pointed right at your face, those cold blue eyes looking straight at you without a hint of care, you cannot bring yourself to be afraid.

_How did you get here in the first place?_

* * *

 

Joan was running through her usual route. It was morning but the street weren’t busy, the kids were at school and people were at work. Sherlock and she had just closed a case, and while he caught up with sleep, she decided to go for a run. The day was warm, but just the right amount of sun which was nice considering colder days were just around the corner. 

Just when she was passing through the park, she saw _her_. The blonde hair was the first clue, but more than just see her, she _felt_ her, that was the second clue. _What a strange thing to feel_ , Joan thought, but she was getting more used to it. The brunette stopped dead on her feet, looking directly at the blonde, who was sitting on the bench on the way. Moriarty was wearing casual clothes, but even from where she was Joan could see that they were designer clothes. She looked stunning.

Joan pondered going back from where she came, but she was curious and they haven’t seen each other on a while, also there was the fact that the place was probably surrounded by Moriarty’s men. So she walked until she was right in front of the blonde, who smirked up at her.

“Dear Watson, what a wonderful surprise” She sounded delighted, Joan rolled her eyes

“What do you want, Moriarty?” Said Joan straight to the point

“Why, see you of course, it’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of your company”

“That’s because you left” Her lips were in a thin line, the brunette was trying not to show any emotions to Moriarty, she couldn’t let her know that what she did affected her. Which didn’t.

“Joan” Moriarty’s expression betrayed her for half a second, if Joan were anyone else, she wouldn’t have noticed, but she did. “So, missed me?” she put a mocking smile on

“You left, Jamie” Joan repeated, _just when I was starting to care too much_ , she wanted to say.

“I needed to solve some business overseas” Jamie was surprised to find herself explaining what she did to someone, she couldn’t even remember the last time she did it. But Joan was special, unique.

“You were running away” _from me._ Joan didn’t even want to think what business it was, much less ask. Jamie looked at her with surprise, changing soon to coldness “You have told me before when you were leaving. You left without a trace, for almost a year”

“I believe you’re forgetting, my dear, that’s what I do for a living” Joan was now mad, she frowned

“I’m done” She said and turned around to keep running, this time with direction to the brownstone, she didn’t feel like going around the city anymore. Jamie looked how Joan walked away. _Don’t let her go,_ she thought, she was a selfish person after all. She stood up from the bench at reached for Joan’s wrist, grabbing it softly

“Wait, please” It was the please that did it, Joan turned again with an arched brow, waiting for Jamie to say something. The blonde felt frustrated, Joan was the only person that ever has made her react without completely thinking through (it’s not like she would _ever_ act without thinking, she _was_ Jamie Moriarty after all). She found herself without words, or maybe too many, she didn’t know what to do, vulnerability wasn’t something she liked at all but she also knew it was something that Joan would appreciate.

“Don’t act like you don’t care, if you wouldn’t we wouldn’t be here, you wouldn’t be here” Said Joan filling the silence “stop with the mask”

“It’s who I am Joan, you keep forgetting I’m not a good person” Jamie let go of the wrist and Joan let out a dry laugh

“I could never forget you’re a cold blood murderer and a criminal mastermind” And it was the truth, but as much as she wanted, she couldn’t stop herself, couldn’t stop what she was feeling no matter how much she hated herself for it, she had made her paces with it… partly. “I just want the truth, I know it was all just a game for you, but why just keep on pursuing me then?”

“It’s not a game” Jamie stated seriously without missing a beat, “It was at first” She admitted, no use lying now anyways “But not anymore, it stopped being a game long time ago… I wanted to figure you out, you are a puzzle after all” Joan rolled her eyes, of course Jamie would say something like that, she was glad at least Sherlock stopped making that statement, even if she could still catch him looking at her like she was something  he still haven’t resolved. Sometimes she wondered why she surrounded herself with them when she could be with normal people.

“Then what? What is it now?” She shouldn’t have asked that, she was a smart woman, maybe not to the point of the par of geniuses she knew, but definitely more than average. She knew that the possibility of anything working out were slim, she and Jamie were opposites. Joan cares, Jamie doesn’t, and doesn’t understand what caring is, if she did, she would have “deciphered” her long ago.

“I believe we could go back to how we were? Before I went away?” Jamie _was_ running when she left, there was no point in denning it when Joan had already figured it out. She needed to get away, she was getting too attached and that was no good. It wasn’t like anything she went through before, and it was different that the care she got for Sherlock when she was Irene. That was what exposed her when they caught her, it was what made her get caught in the first place. The caring she had for Sherlock, possibly love? Maybe not romantic but certainly something.

“Sleeping together and you intercepting my days with your presence?” Said Joan dryly

“You love having your days interrupted by my presence” And there it was again, the L word. What a funny thing, no matter how much she had planned this conversation and seen the possible outcomes, she ended up getting herself in exactly what she was trying to avoid. Joan looked at her with mild surprise by her wording, but quickly recomposed herself.

“I’m not just a toy for you to use whenever you get bored. I told you, I’m done with that. I’ve had it” She wasn’t going back to the way things were before, it was too risky. She would end up falling and wouldn’t be caught when she got to the end, she would crash and it wouldn’t be pretty, it would be painful.

“I’m not playing. You’re right, you’re not a toy” Jamie said with conviction. _I want you_ , she wanted to say. This was the most expressive Joan had ever seen her, she wasn’t sure what she could do to keep Joan with her. She wasn’t even sure what she wanted exactly, she had gone away because everything was getting too real, but the minute she was away she had wanted to come back. Maybe she wasn’t sure about what she wanted exactly, but she did know one thing: she wanted to be around Joan. “Would you like to have coffee with me?”

Joan looked at her completely surprised now, from all of the thing that Jamie could have said, that was the least expected, it didn’t even crossed her mind. She was shocked, but Jamie always managed to surprise her one way or another. She looked at her and realized, was Jamie nervous? She seemed like it, but was masking it really well. After all, Joan was taking her time to answer and she was sure if it were anyone else and not Jamie Moriarty, she would have broken already and have tried to change the subject.

“Okay” Answered Joan, and she could see the tension leave Jamie’s shoulders


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. I'm really sorry it took so long, I haven't got time between college and work. I hope you like it and if I have any gramatical mistake tell me, since this is not my first language. Also, thank you for the comments, it really makes me want to keep writing this.
> 
> Thanks for reading (:

She wasn’t sure why she had said yes to her in the first place, perhaps it was the way Jamie had said and repeated she wasn’t just a game, or the way she had seen the vulnerability when she had asked her out (which the blonde will forever deny, she was sure of it), or maybe she just wasn’t strong enough to say no to Jamie anymore, no matter how much she had thought and said she was done. Whatever the reason, she just hoped she wouldn’t regret it. She knew that if she thought about it, her mind would go to the worst possible scenario, which was a pretty terrible one considering she worked with the police and Sherlock, and Jamie was a criminal (a very capable one at that).

So she tried to avoid thinking too much about it, simply because she wanted her. She wanted Jamie and she wanted to be selfish, even if her conscience was really hard to shut up.

Joan had left Jamie on the park and had went to the brownstone. She was feeling nervous, what would Sherlock think? Jamie was still not one of his favourite people and that was an understatement. Just by having any kind of feelings for her made her feel guilty, after all the blonde did to him and how he felt because of her. It wasn’t as he didn’t know they used to sleep together, he noticed and Joan ended up telling him what he already knew. She couldn’t bring herself to hide it for long either, having to keep something from Sherlock didn’t sit well with her, they were partners and friends, and at this point, close to family. It’s not like you could hide a lot of things from Sherlock Holmes anyways, Moriarty was probably one of the few that ever could.

He didn’t like it and he tried to voice it, but Joan would have none of that, who she slept with was none of his business and she told him exactly that. He told her she would end up getting hurt and she had said _“it’s just sex”._ She had believed it at the time, she could have found that anywhere, as Sherlock had pointed out, but it just wasn’t the same. _That should have been her first clue._

Whenever she wanted it or not, she ended up getting hurt anyways. She ended up caring and it didn’t feel like just sex anymore, it wasn’t romantic or anything like that, but there was definitely something else. They talked sometimes and Moriarty soon became Jamie, and Jamie was nice to be around most of the time. There was an implicit agreement in which they didn’t discuss Jamie’s job, and that was okay for a while. She would even give insights to the cases they were working at the time, all this while the post coitus bliss. Sometimes she would go out of the city, but she would always tell her and come back ( _come back to her)._ And then she left out of nowhere, and Joan hadn’t heard from her for almost a year. Even when she was away she would always call or send texts (or letters because she was just that kind of person), but that time there was absolutely _nothing_. Nothing said, nothing left, no contact.

And it hurt, more than she had ever thought it would. Sherlock noticed and he would try to distract her, he hadn’t asked what was going on but he knew. She had been mad and hurt, even sad. But she had continued her days like she always did and tried not to think about it, it hadn’t worked as well as she thought it would, since the blonde was on her mind quite often.

Joan’s mind went back to the present once she was on the Brownstone’s front door. She decided for the easy way, since nothing good would probably come out from the date with Moriarty (was it even a date? It probably wasn’t but part of her felt like it was) it was better if she didn’t said anything to Sherlock for the time being. Just so he wouldn’t worry without it being necessary.

She was going up to her room when Sherlock caught her.

“Your run took you more than usual” He pointed out

“I stopped by on the park for a bit” That wasn’t a lie. Sherlock had his arms crossed and now he arched an eyebrow, as if asking why she would do such thing. “You were sleeping when I left, better if you go back to it, seems like you need it” Was the answer Joan gave with a lifted eyebrow of her own.

“You should go take a shower, looks like you need it” He said before turning around and going to his room. Joan rolled her eyes and went to shower.

Jamie was staying in one of her safe places, a not to big apartment in the city. Before Joan she hadn’t used it much, but the only reason why she kept going back to this country was her. She had already admitted the fact to herself, but by no means would she tell another soul, even if probably Sherlock must suspect it already. At first she said it was because of business, but the truth was, she had gotten used to being around Joan and she liked it.

If her past self could see her now she would probably kill her. She had never thought she would become a slave of what she was feeling (what _was_ she feeling anyways?). She hated it, which was why she had left. She shouldn’t have come back, she shouldn’t have looked for Joan. She should have just stayed were she was, what she was doing went against everything she had tried to avoid while she built her empire. She was being weak, but she just couldn’t fight it and didn’t want to, anymore.

She should just kill Joan, it would make everything easier. But that would never happen, she wouldn’t deny the world such a person. She wouldn’t deny such a person to herself. It was funny really, how she had thought at first she would get bored rather quickly and just let it be. It didn’t happen, and until this day Joan kept surprising her. She just didn’t expect her to say yes when she asked, but now she wondered how she expected anything else. She should just stop thinking of the possible outcomes when it was about Joan, but it wasn’t like she could turn off her brain.

They had agreed to meet the same afternoon for dinner, since Jamie didn’t want Joan to think about it too much and regret saying yes. Jamie was now waiting on the restaurant, she was wearing a nice dress but nothing too fancy. She was nervous, but nothing about her could give that fact away.

Joan walked into the place just at the time they had said they would meet. Jamie almost sighed of relief, she didn’t actually think Joan wouldn’t show up but you can’t blame her for wondering. The brunette made her way to the table and Jamie stand up when she reached her.

“It’s good you could make it, dear” She said with a smirk

“Don’t call me that” Said Joan as she took a seat, Jamie following soon. The blonde couldn’t help but notice how good Joan looked, she was wearing a dress too, and one that hugged her body just the perfect ways. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had taken a lot of thought into what clothes she would wear, like Jamie did.

“You look stunning Joan” She stated seriously, Joan seemed self-conscious now and like she was trying to hide a blush, it obviously didn’t work, which made Jamie smile a bit more, but not showing her teeth. She ordered a bottle of wine to the waiter that had come and added “What did Sherlock said when he saw you leave like that? Surely he noticed”

“He wasn’t there” Joan answered. It was a real coincidence and it just made everything easier, since she didn’t have to lie, not completely, since she told him she would be going out at night when he was leaving so he didn’t entertain himself questioning her. “Why are you back?”

“Straight to the point as always I see” Moriarty said, it seemed like she was mocking her. Joan arched an eyebrow not impressed. Jamie relented. “I missed you” Joan was surprised to say the least, Jamie didn’t talk about what she felt, if she even feels things like normal people

“Then why leave?” Jamie couldn’t believe she was being so direct, let alone so honest. She should probably stop, honesty only leads to trouble.

“I told you, I had business to attend” Joan frowned

“And I told you I don’t buy your bullshit excuse”

“No need to be rude dear” Joan went to stand up and leave, she didn’t feel like having patience with Moriarty and she was starting to wonder why she went in the first place. Which was just great considering she hadn’t been there for more than ten minutes. The waiter stopped her though, since he just got there to leave the wine and ask for their orders. Jamie had noticed, of course. She ordered and so did Joan, which meant she would stay for a while longer.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Moriarty. This is a nice restaurant and a free dinner” Joan had read her mind “But if you do anything at all that upsets me, I’m gone” Jamie nodded and found herself in a crossroad. She wanted to be around Joan, after all, that was the reason why she came back, but Joan didn’t seem to want to go back to how things were before. This was obviously going to be harder than she thought, but she didn’t expect anything less from the brunette.

“I had to leave, because if I stayed much longer I would have fallen for you and with our lines of work it can only end badly. I was merely preventing it” Jamie answered the previous question. Joan didn’t show any emotion when the blonde said that, she didn’t really know how to react.

“How did that work?” She asked. _Tell me it didn’t work, tell me you came back for me_ , she thought.

“Terribly” She said looking straight at Joan’s eyes “Since I realised when I was away, there was no fighting it. Because it was an already lost battle. You are truly an astounding and beautiful woman after all” Joan’s heart melted a little with those words.

“You were scared of coming back”

“I was… avoiding it, yes, but you cannot deny the outcome of _this_ will not be pretty”

“I’d rather not to think about it right now” Said Joan truthfully. Every time she thinks about it too much she gets a headache. “If you know what’s at stake, why come back?”

“Oh darling, I have no clue to what really is at stake” Maybe her empire? Their lives? So much could go wrong. “What I do know, is that I came back for you”


End file.
